Helena weekly herald. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1867-1900, 1887-10-06
GROUND FIOOR.

1t frequently happens that man and his
wife go through life with the hope of building
better house "some day." They are eco
nomical; they live carefully; they live in a
small house; they are crowded. At last, by
dint of hard work and careful management,
enough money is accumulated to build the
new home. This is the great event which has
been thought about for many years.
The idea in building this house is invaria-
l7ly to get something as different from the old
house as possible. 1t was square; the new
building must be irregular 1t had no front
hall; the new house must have a large one
There were no CRATES in any of the rooms; in
she new house there must be one in each. In
the old building the rooms were very small; in
the new house they must be very large
There was no porch before; now there must
be one running across the front and along
one side Of the house. Altogether the idea Of
the old house and that Of the new are in di-
rect opposition to each other. In one in
stance they were crowded; in the other they
nave plenty of room. There can be no doubt
about the abundance Of room.
I The building is finished; they move into it.
About the first person to get out of it is the
:ervant whom they had in the old house. She
ices the amount of work which she will have
o do. It,was easy enough to sweep the old
i,ouse with its small, compact plan. House
,eeping was relatively a small matter, but
with the habits Of economy which rendered
| the new house possible they will not hire
second girl. The work which is left over by
the servant falls to the mistress. Strange as
! it may appear under such circumstances, it
takes the mistress long time to find out the
cause of the trouble. 1t is the house. 1t was
| planned with an entire disregard for the work
which was to be done. 1t had not been
thought of. The idea was merely to get some
thing which was different from the disagree
able features of the old home. They thought
that everything would be easier and pleasant
er and more agreeable in every way. The
only thinr the matter with the old house was
they were too crowded. In the new they are
not, but have an impossible amount Of work
to do every day. The difference between
what they wish to do and what is done is rep
resented by fretfulness in addition TO the nat
ural WEAKNESS at the end Of the day.
But what has this to do with architecture
and economical house buildingi Simply this:
The house which is economically planned Is
economical as to money, carpets, sweeping
and strength. The architect may do great
deal for housekeepers by going through life
with this thought in his mind.
To recur to the idea Of economical house
building in direct sense it may be borne in
mind that economy and good construction go
hand in hand; that none Of the conditions OF
permanency are sacrificed for the sake OF
cheapness. OF two houses which cost the
same one may afford more conveniences and
ROOM to the occupants according as there Is
ain avoidance of waste space and unnecessary
material. Evidently one fue stack will cost
less than four Therefore, if house can be
constructed which has only one flue stack,
that house will cost less than one which has